Navigating Star Wars Force Friday: What You Need To Know

(Lucasfilm)

While not nearly as large or as clever as May the 4th, Force Friday II promises to be huge with 20,000+ stores in 30 nations participating. So, what is this "holiday," of sorts, about? From sales on your favorite Star Wars merch to the introduction of a new character, here's what to expect this Friday, September 1st.

Deals and giveaways

While I regretfully announce that Tosche Station will not have any deals on power converters, there's still a lot of cool sales and giveaways to look out for. Some of my personal favorites are

• Several Walmart stores will be giving away trading discs and Star Wars Battlefront II posters as a part of their parking lot "Be Jedi Ready" event
• Break out the coffee because Toys R Us will be giving away free Funko POP! Star Wars shirts and The Last Jedi posters when they open their stores at midnight on Friday
• Staples will debut new Star Wars drones at its stores and on its website
• When you spend $50 on Star Wars merch at any JCPenney store, you'll get $10 extra to splurge on
• All Hot Topic locations will have Star Wars t-shirts discounted to $12. Plus, Funko POP!s will be 2 for $18.
• FYE will be selling an exclusive The Last Jedi POP! as well as hosting a sweepstakes to win POP! figures.​

In-person events

Shopping is gradually moving online these days, but experiencing a Star Wars fan event in person is a worthwhile experience. Luckily, retailers will be offering plenty to do at their retail locations across the country. To name a few,

• ThinkGeek is inviting fans to come to their retail stores for some Star Wars trivia and cosplay
• Comic book and other stores across the country will be hosting events with Star Wars games from Fantasy Flight Games
  
• Books-a-Million will have Star Wars-themed activities, products, and cosplay at its stores from 4-6 P.M. on Friday
  
• Apple will be having two different events in its stores--Kids Hour where children will program their own robots, and How To: Build A Star Wars Trailer where people of all ages will learn to make a trailer like the Lucasfilm pros

...and much more. To see all the deals and events that will be going on this Friday and into the weekend, check out this helpful page from Star Wars.

Discover a never-before-seen character from The Last Jedi

Aside from the cool things you'll get to do in retail stores, you'll definitely want to participate in the "Find the Force" augmented reality scavenger hunt, for the simple reason that you can discover a new, never-before-seen character from The Last Jedi. To participate, you can follow the instructions in the video below:

As you can see, you'll be able to unlock all your favorite Star Wars characters, plus some new additions to the galaxy far, far away, like the already much beloved Porgs! Anyone already mentally planning all the stores they can go to in one day while trying to fit in school/work? 

via GIPHY

Yes, me too.

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Comment below: How will you be celebrating Force Friday?